Tyre choice for London to Paris ride

dragonontheedge

I am riding to Paris at the end of the month.

I will be giving my bike a full service this weekend to include fitting new tyres. I have ridden in South France where the roads are superb. I have heard the country roads are not so good in Northern France. Is there any truth in this ? If so, should I fit my new 23's or 25's ?

Many thanks in advance.

Al

ugo.santalucia

It doesn't make any difference... they are just too similar and if you run the 25 at the same pressure you run the 23, then it does not make any difference at all

dragonontheedge

Noted, many thanks.

Al

chris_bass

I cycled to paris a couple of years back, i found the roads to be pretty good in the north of france (although that is compared to the very poor roads i usually cycle on!) the only problem I found was that quite a lot of the quieter rural roads had a lot of gravel and small sharp stone chippings which could cut up less sturdy tyres. I may have just picked bad roads though!

dragonontheedge

Thanks Chris

That was very helpful. I am inclined to stick with my Vredenstein Fortezzas which are the 23's. The 25's are Conti GP4000 if I remember correctly.

Thanks once again.

Al

DiscoBoy

ugo.santalucia wrote:

It doesn't make any difference... they are just too similar

Not if they are made by michelin. Their 23s are 23 and their 25s are 27...

Grill

DiscoBoy wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

It doesn't make any difference... they are just too similar

Not if they are made by michelin. Their 23s are 23 and their 25s are 27...

Amen.

DiscoBoy

Grill wrote:

DiscoBoy wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

It doesn't make any difference... they are just too similar

Not if they are made by michelin. Their 23s are 23 and their 25s are 27...

Amen.

It's annoying, I'd really like some genuinely 25mm pro4s

izza

Having ridden that journey several times in a big group, the number of times people shout out for road debris/potholes is much more common from London to Dover than it is on the other side of the channel.

Whatever you use over here will easily be adequate for the improved tarmac over there.

davidb67

I'd echo what Izza said; I did my first L2P in Sept last year, found the roads in Northern France a joy to ride on in contrast with the shocking state in UK in general. Far more craters and debris-strewn obstacles to try and avoid on the first leg down from London to Dover.
I used the standard Bontrager Race 23's that were on my bike - bit of a newbie and didn't know any different - and they were absolutely fine.

Velonutter

I've done L2P three times, the first time via Dover/Calais and the 2nd & 3rd Time via Portsmouth/St.Malo

The roads are superb and crying out for good tyres, first & second time I used Michelin Pro 3's 23's and last year I rode Tubs, by far the Tubs were the most enjoyable, but if I hadn't had ridden tubs then would have ridden Michelin Pro 4's 23's which are my favourite clinchers of all time.

Langlais

I live in northern France (nearby the usual L2P route) and can confirm that the road surfaces here are pretty good - and definitely far better than the roads between London and Dover! Some country roads can be gritty and flinty (due to run-off from farm tracks and fields) and some roads though wooded areas suffered from freeze-thawing over the 2012-2013 winter. But the potentially lethal potholes I've seen in SE England are quite rare here. Likewise, top dressing with gravel (or whatever it's called) is pretty rare too. So if your tyres get you to Dover, they should get you to Paris! Have a good ride.

dragonontheedge

Thanks Velonutte and Langlais, that was extremely helpful.

Langlais, I hit one of those UK pot holes you speak of today on a training ride. One snake bite puncture despite 120 psi and a buckled back wheel. Chuffed, not.

kayakerchris

Tubeless

CXrider

There is no comparison between the average French and English road, for cars or cyclists.
France will be a joy if you did it 28 MTB tyres... Just enjoy the ride!